Summary Report of the generous "shoe" donation we received

Children’s Home Society of West Virginia-Parkersburg site received a special grant from the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, from the Robert E. Fouss Memorial Fund to provide shoes for low-income children served in our programs. The employees of the Suddenlink Contact Center helped make this support possible with a generous employee fund raising effort. This generous gift made for a VERY well received and appreciated help to many families that we serve across several of our programs. 82 pairs of shoes were able to be given to children across a wide age range. Children involved in Children’s Home Society’s after school program at McKinley Elementary school (grades K-5, as well as some older siblings) received shoes in the largest numbers. Children and their parents alike, showed both genuine appreciation and excitement at this gift around the holidays. Children in our foster care program, totaling 19 children, ages ranging from toddlers to early teens, also received shoes through this kind gift. The shoes (and boots!) for the foster children were distributed at a very festive and warm Christmas party in December, with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus present, and a great spread of food donated from area businesses and individuals. Children in our school based programs (a homeless student liaison works with any children county-wide who are identified as homeless throughout the year) (and a worker from Children’s Home Society who works at VanDevender Middle School with students who have truancy or attendance problems) both were able to identify some particular children in families that very desperately benefited from the gift of new shoes as winter approached. These children ranged from early elementary school age, to middle school age students. Several youth at our Arthur N. Gustke Shelter for Youth also received shoes through this grant. These teens are in crisis temporary situations and often in transition from one placement to another, and the knowledge that community members are aware of their plight and thinking of them with such a gift is very meaningful to them. And finally, our recently initiated runaway and homeless youth programs also had young people who benefited from the shoes. These youth are older youth who are experiencing homelessness, often at a key point of their own transition to adulthood, but still benefit from the support of adults and our programming. Accompanying this report are several pictures portraying the excitement of “new shoes” in keeping with the intent and spirit of the Robert E. Fouss Memorial Fund, in furthering the caring and love that he gave children in the community, through his life, and carried on by his family.